Compulsory Language Lessons

[panther]

is it french that they are wanting to learn? or something else?

[West Ender]

Originally Posted by katex

From what I heard the powers that be are looking into the way we teach languages in schools and feel grammar/spelling first will be their first line of attack.

It has to be conversation first or it won't work. We don't say, to a 2 year old, "What is the past tense of To See?". We say, "I saw." The child learns without thinking about it. It learns to communicate.

When I'm in Malta I am always impressed by the Maltese children who, at a very early age, can speak English though their native language is Maltese. They learn from their parents and friends and at school. They learn to speak English and it's not until much later that they learn the spelling and grammar, by which time the grammar is second nature anyway.

[tosh]

MY SON DID WELL AT SCHOOL IN FRENCH HE GOT AN A, SORRY I WAS NOT TAUGHT ANY WHEN I WENT TWO SCHOOL
:thanka:

[Yolanda25]

i learned english at school when i was younger and came handy, pass the subject as i had a brilliant english teacher, people says that i speak good english because my mother is english but its not true, never learned a word from her because i wasnt interested when she tried to, it was after that i felt stupid for not learning the language so im gonna make sure my son and the one on its way speak perfect spanish

[blazey]

Mandarin is the way forward. Teach that instead of french, spanish, urdu, german...

[panther]

handy going to the chinese i suppose

[lancsdave]

Originally Posted by panther

handy going to the chinese i suppose

Don't they speak English then ?

Mandarin has been touted as the language to learn for at least 10 years and still hasn't taken off. Bit like the paperless office was going to be the big thing about 20 years, you would think that would be even nearer now with the advent of e-mail etc, yet you wouldn't believe how many offices have staff who print off all their emails and file them

[blazey]

I have a chinese friend over the internet who speaks perfect english. The reason I suggest mandarin is the suggestion that China is rumoured to be the greatest economic power in the world at some point. Or so I have been told!